Chicago Marathon by Allan Williams

So it all began during a half marathon in Palma de Majorca just less than a year ago…a roasting hot day, two thirds round the course and me promising myself never ever to do this again...well it didn’t quite start there but close enough. A few hours later talking to my wife Tanja over a celebratory beer I mentioned that maybe running a marathon might be a good idea. The crazy logic being that it would be a bit slower and therefore a bit less painful than a half....as I write this I’m already thinking, what an idiot!

So as a Christmas “present” Tanja signed us up for Chicago marathon... that kind of present could seriously lose you some friends. What next, entry to an Ironman for my birthday, a voucher for a kick in the shin for Easter as a healthy alternative to a chocolate egg?!

We were both lucky enough to get through the ballot and so there we were flying to Chicago with our training behind us, me looking suspiciously around the plane for any sign of a sniffle or a cough having tried to avoid any human contact for the last week in order to not pick up a cold.

Chicago is a super city, we’ve been before and really like the place....a couple of days to acclimatise and avoid much walking, a visit to the expo for some free goodies, a marathon t-shirt, some free beer and of course our start numbers!

The big day came, despite my obsession with cold avoidance we'd both picked up colds! Sniffles and a bit of a sore throat but nothing too severe...nothing a 26.2 mile jog couldn’t sort out. It was going to be a pretty hot day, unlike any other holiday we've been on we were constantly looking at various weather apps leading up to the race hoping for a severe drop in temperature. It had been getting up to 31 degrees in the week before so we were pretty lucky it had dropped to a relatively parky 26 degrees on race day. Each time I mention to someone it was hot it goes up by another degree, to the point I've pretty much started saying my trainers were melting. To keep it factual, I’ve done some research and it reached a high of 28 degrees but thankfully after the race.

So to the race. We had a 45 minute journey from our Airbnb to the start line and we joined the throngs entering the park. We had a long queue for the toilet which put me a bit on edge, but that aside it was trouble free and we headed to our respective start corrals. I felt fairly good as I walked through to the front of the corral towards the pacers for 3hrs 40mins which was my target.

I had already decided not to run with the pacer as during my training I’d done a few long runs with half marathon at around 1hr 47mins so i thought if all went well I might be able to sneak a 3hr 35mins Marathon.

The first half of the race went great, I couldn't take the smile off my face! There were loads of people out supporting as we ran through the centre of Chicago. There were lots of funny signs out there to take your mind off the running, my favourite of those I can remember being “if Trump can run, so can you”. There were plenty of people out supporting and the atmosphere was great.

It was already quite hot, but the tall buildings gave really good shade. Unfortunately that couldn’t last forever and the second half is much more exposed as it winds through Chicago’s various neighbourhoods, each bringing it’s own distinct flavour.

The on-course services were fantastic, with sports drink and water stops every couple of miles and a load of other goodies like sponges, gels, chews and bananas being handed out at official stations and a load of other treats being offered by the cheering crowds. I really couldn’t have any complaints there...I’m sure I could have put on a couple of pounds around the course if I’d have been in the mood!

So I reached half way in my target 1hr 47mins feeling pretty good...happy with the world...dreaming of a run below my target. Unfortunately that didn’t last too long...a few miles later and I started to slow, my energy was drained despite taking my gels as I’d planned. I think back now and wonder why I didn’t stop and have a banana or something more substantial but I think at the time a combination of being nervous about trying something new and also just not really feeling like I had the stomach for it stopped me.

My pace dropped, it didn’t fall off a cliff but I lost about 20 seconds a Kilometer for a few kilometres and then another 20 seconds after another few kilometres. It was starting to feel pretty bad and the last 10km's was torture! I’d ran up to 35kms in training and had never felt like this...there was nowhere to hide from the sun and each water station involved throwing a couple of cups of water over my head as well as drinking plenty. I’d normally not drank too much on my long runs but decided that given the heat I’d take a little water at each of the stations right from the start...nothing new on race day of course but I felt given the temperature that I had to make that change. It certainly didn’t seem to impact me in the first half.

So did I say the last 10ks was torture! Obviously I’d heard people talk about this and our trainer, Mark had talked a lot about the mental side of things and how the last 10kmwas going to be mentally and physically tough....I guess I just really underestimated that and certainly hadn’t come anywhere near the feeling in training...I had expected pain as my left knee had been playing up at the end of long runs but that was surprising not too painful...maybe I was too exhausted to feel the pain! I told myself that I just needed to keep running, but in the end I couldn't manage it - this was a low point, I didn’t expect to have to walk and this hurt...I walked through the water stations, justifying it to myself as needing to walk to take on water but in reality I just couldn’t do it anymore without these rests every couple of kilometres. I started to dream of the next water station where I could walk again, the relief palpable as they popped up like an oasis in the desert!

Another low couple of lows came as the both the 3:40 and 3:45 pacers passed me…I made a feeble attempt to keep up with the 3:45 as I was pretty near to the finish but just had nothing to give, no energy in the legs and it was enough just to resist the desire to walk the rest of the way.

I don’t think I ever thought I wasn’t going to make it, I knew I could walk the rest if it came to it but I really wanted to carry on running to get the best time I could. I really was counting down each kilometre and as I’d done a year ago I was telling myself “never again”!

I crossed the line, relieved and exhausted but in control of my faculties enough to grab as much free stuff as I could! Protein shakes, ice bag (placed on head), wet towel, ubiquitous Marathon silver sheet thingy, bottle of water, free beer (very important), various crisp type snacks and energy bars and of course, last but not least a nice shiny medal! And what a medal!

I staggered over the bag collection, picked up my stuff, sat down and turned on my phone to track Tanja coming through on the race app. Loads of messages came through from friends and family tracking the race in the app who had seen that I'd finished and it was great to know that they were supporting us as we slogged around the course.

I went to wait for Tanja coming through and sat down on the ground in the sun, it took me a good couple of minutes to get to the floor I was so sore and I got a little cheer from some fellow runners amused at my inflexibility as I made it to the floor.

It was great to see Tanja coming out of the finishing area, I was really relieved to see she made it in one piece as it was so brutal out there. The journey wouldn’t have felt complete without both of us making it.

We hung around a bit, took a few photos, had another free beer and then headed back to our flat...I think mixed feelings for both of us, relieved and happy to have completed our first marathon, but both a little disappointed having not made our target time.

Spending the next few days hobbling around, that feeling of disappointment for me has now gone, the conditions were tough, it was our first marathon and it really is a good time I can be proud of... as for never running another marathon, let’s just say I now know the chance of getting into the London Marathon through the ballot in 2016 was 6.9%.

Maverick Original Kent by Charlotte Levin

The Maverick Original is a series of trail events hosted around the UK that I had only recently come across. Just in time for the end of the season I made my way out to Groombridge Place and the Kent event. The race offered three distances, short (7km), medium (14km) and long (21k), not calling myself much of a distance runner, I decided that I should challenge myself a bit and signed up for the 14km one.

Turning up on race day, I look around at the other participants. There aren't many people in club or charity tops, but many more in various trail jackets and a range of "I'm attached to my backpack" looks. The event is dog friendly and the runners with four legged friends come well prepared with a harness rather than just a regular lead. Regulars? Plenty. They have a season pass for a reason.

As we prepare for start, they make us form two lines. All distances start from the same place, at the same time but the long distance then immediately take a left turn whilst medium and short peel off to throw right. We're informed that anyone who wants to race for a time should make it up to the front as the path quickly gets narrow and overtaking opportunities may be restricted. To my surprise, a lot of people still hang back, being there for the joy of running the trail more than hitting a time.

The cow bell rings and we're off. Staying true to my race habit (not necessarily a good one), I set off at a pace I know I won't be able to maintain for the whole route, hoping to get some space to find my rhythm later. After about 100m, we're faced with the first bottleneck: a cow gate. It is a trail race and noting to be surprised about, but I'm glad that my quick start means the queue is shorter than for those further back. Obviously there wasn’t going to be only one and for the first kilometer there’s probably four or five. People and dogs gradually perfect their crossing to make the race flow as much as possible.

The last few days before the race had been wet enough for the ground to be properly soft and my shoes quickly gain extra weight from the mud they're putting on. The route goes over fields, through woods with root laced paths and, only when necessary, along some tarmac roads. The short and medium races follow the same course for the first 4-5km. It is well marked with arrows and blue bands, but there aren't many marshals around and you're strongly encouraged to not just blindly follow the person in front of you as they might be doing a different distance. Each category has about 120-125 runners, and the small number has its benefits and drawbacks: you don't have to fight for your space on the path but neither do you have many opportunities to find someone who can pace you. I had the intention of racing but after the first third I'm feeling how much tougher the undulating trail is compared to the flat road that has made up my training base. My race plan had been too aggressive and I'm forced to walk for a bit just to get my heart rate down. When I'm able to start picking it up again, I’m surprised by the lack of people going past me, and I readjust from "push, push, push" to a gentler pace. The surroundings were varied, open areas giving you a view of the place, followed by twists through the forest and later easy straights across fields.

With only a few kilometers left, you start seeing the long runners, but they're coming the other way! By this point I think the short and medium courses have joined up again, we're running on a wide ish path and people are going both directions. Even if it's not quite two person wide it passes very smoothly, no one seems particularly bothered by it and are just in their groove. I was glad I didn't have to dodge any dogs, instead I spot a friend of mine and high five as we pass.

Across a field, past the photographer who's shouting some cheering words and to the finish. All those cow gates we started with are now tackled the other way, my legs significantly less excited about them, and a few of the finishers are stood along the final stretch looking out for their friends. I usually try to go for a sprinting finish, but this time all I could do was to convince my legs to keep the same pace, across the finish lines and to the goodies.

One thing they do differently is to include a beer instead of a finishers tshirt in the race entry, with medal designed to double up as a bottle opener. I chat briefly to another lady I had exchanged a few words with before the start and someone who had used me for pacing for a while. Not many have stayed around or, as I discovered later when looking at the result list, the majority of runners from medium and long haven't yet finished.

There were certainly things with the race which were different to what I've been to before: fewer marshals and a very casual bag drop (non-guarantueed-attended during the race) being the main things. None of those really bothered me, but I was a little annoyed that I had planned on there being two water stations but then only came across one. That aside, the course had everything it promised and was beautiful to run. My race had been tough, but of the type where you're not regretting getting into it but just take notes on what training to focus on for the next one. I still finished 9th lady on middle distance and was happy with my time. With that in mind, it’s time to look over the weaknesses and turn the mind to cross country season!

Bournemouth Marathon by Matt Kay

Pinning my colours to the mast at the beginning of the year I treated myself to a place at Bournemouth to chalk a marathon off the list before I hit 30.

Having joined the Eagles a year last July and getting injured after a week I was chomping at the bit to get involved in the new year...in my inexperience I’ve entered far too many races this year including double booking myself on a couple of occasions!

Training

After finally returning to the club in the new year for the first club run of 2017, John Barry mentioned to me that Jesal had coached him through his marathon. I subsequently joined forces with Jesal which has really helped shape my approach to running for the year through which I feel I’ve learnt a lot.

After a disappointing run at the Olympic Park in early Jan I produced a PB at the Hyde Park 10k at the end of the month and continued to see a surge in fitness towards March where I ran my first sub 60 10k helpfully pushed on by Claire Morris at the end to dip under 58mins. This was sandwiched by Allie pacing me to a sub 30 5k at Gunnersbury Parkrun in Feb for club champs. I attribute the surge in fitness to continued track sessions. I’m grateful to Christina O’Hare and Annette for pushing me along at track whilst they trained for their own marathons.

After these runs I really started to work closely with Jesal including mapping out a pre-Marathon plan for Bournemouth with the general feeling that if I started early in April focusing on getting up to Half Marathon distance then I would build a good foundation for Bournemouth. I did and by May I was thinking that marathon training was going to be a piece of cake and as happens when you start to think things will be easy and you get complacent a massive curve ball is thrown into the mix, and I got injured.

The injury occurred about three weeks before Swansea half and with rest, massage, physio and recuperation together with calf protector applied I told myself I was fully fit, but I knew I wasn’t. 

Striking out for the sub 2 I’d arrived and trained for I ran a PB over the first 10k and was feeling strong for the first 7 miles but then I started to feel my calf and slowed momentarily until a woman shouted from behind me “come on Ealing Eagle you have been pacing me for the last six miles”- this gave me a lift for the next 2 miles but at that point my calf completely gave up and I went from doing 9min miles to 12min miles. The thought of the last three miles now going to take the time equivalent of four miles was quite soul destroying, and despite finishing with a massive PB improving on my time of 2:40 a year earlier to 2:13 I lost my way quite a bit after Swansea. So whilst running a few summer leagues and other runs I didn’t really start to knuckle down again until the beginning of August.

I knew August was going to be a make or break month for me testing my body to see if I could go beyond the half marathon distance and up to the required mileage breaking the “golden barrier” of 20 miles.

In that month I managed a 12.5 miler back in Manchester with my sis running the first 7 with me - the last 5 particularly the final 2 and a half were very tough and I felt my calf. The following week I did Burnham Beeches half with an added 2 Miles at the beginning - whilst very picturesque, it was definitely one of the toughest halfs I’ve done despite being billed as “flat”. I was indebted that day to Kimmy running some miles with me (I remember her asking me before the race if the calf blew up what would I do about Bournemouth and I said I’d be doing it regardless but deep down I think I knew that race was make or break). I was also grateful to Angela dragging me up the hill at the end. I remember speaking to my sister after the race feeling totally wiped out and she said “you will ask yourself how you will do another 10 Miles on top but next time you run your legs will feel stronger”- they did, the following week I did 18 Miles where I was grateful to Christine Dixon running the Battersea 10k summer league with me to finish off my 18 miler where after 16 again my legs virtually gave up but she kept me going. 

Following Summer League came the training defining 20 miler which started off from Hounslow, built in Gunnersbury Parkrun and then finished with the West Walk 10k - many people got me round the course that day and in particular my sis running it with me and Olivia and Michelle kindly stalling their own run to get me up the last hill rep - James and Che’s continued cheer and water supply also played a big part.

That month essentially defined my training prep and gave me the self belief that I would not be denied and would complete the marathon.

However there were still tests and bumps in the road - I picked up a foot injury and couldn’t compete in one of my favourite 10k’s in my hometown two weeks later. At one point I told Jesal I didn’t care about pacing and just wanted to run the marathon time at whatever time I did. However despite a moment of indiscipline doing a tempo run rather than a recovery run where I tweaked my calf, September was the month of pacing where I really nailed my times for marathon and instilled the belief I could run the time I wanted: 4.30.

So after a mentally exhausting taper where my brain felt shattered and a reluctance to run I had a relaxing final week prepping for the big run.

The Race

Race day arrived although I did clock 10 miles walking round Bournemouth the day before which probably wasn’t ideal prep and I had a sore left ankle by the end of it although come race day this had subsided.

In terms of the race I’d had grave concerns over the 10am start time particularly given the weather forecast had been showing sun all week, however when we arrived to the start line the overcast conditions looked perfect - little did we know Bournemouth had many personalities when it came to weather depending where you were.

I’d agreed long ago that I’d run with Hayley as we both wanted to do 10min miles so we took our place in the start pen and at that point the sun appeared- half joking with the marshal I said we needed him to get rid of it, to which the woman next to me responded- “oh no, we want it to be sunny” to which I retorted “no we don’t”; anyhow we set off and the heat was noticeable from the get go, given the easy pace we were taking we shouldn’t have even been breaking sweat but it was dropping off us by the bucket load; that’s said the first 8 Miles seemed to fly by and we’d flown up the first hill into the cliffs and everything was going smoothly or so I thought aside from the fact I’d needed the toilet since we’d set off, anyhow whilst I’ve run a few races feeling like that and performed well perhaps because my focus has been on needing the toilet rather than my mind thinking about anything else race or otherwise. However whilst I’d managed many races feeling like that there was no way I could last another three hours feeling like that so when I got the opportunity I went to the toilet before catching Hayley up, she’d been struggling with illness the day before but had felt fine before the race and whilst at a couple of points I thought she was struggling, she said she fine and credit it to her had kept pace; however shortly after me she too took a comfort break, I’d urged her too as I’d said for me I felt a lot better for it. So we partied ways around mile 9 and whilst I expected her to catch me up unfortunately she didn’t. For me though, at this point I was starting to feel really strong, feeding off the energy of the crowd and having to reign myself in not to up the pace.

Anyhow the key turning point was when we dropped down onto the promenade, running along the seafront - the heat was an absolute killer and I felt like I was being nailed to the beach huts by it; similar to being nailed to the wall by the sun outside Osterley Park on the summer 10k, it was brutal and at this point I knew I was in trouble and could feel my legs starting to cramp up and I decided I needed to try and take evasive action so I threw the gel strategy out of the window and took one two miles ahead of schedule and took every bit of sugar I could lay my hands on, unfortunately for me - I was clearly dehydrating and there wasn’t a water station for another 3/4 miles.

By mile 12, I could feel the pace and my intended time goal slipping away and not just by seconds but minutes and at this point my head started to drop, I saw some family friends at that point but I was in a bad way and quite disenchanted with it all asking myself how on earth I’d get through the next 14.2 miles. Anyhow I pushed on trying to keep to 11min miles but visibly struggling. That’s when a big turning point came in the race, seeing Carlo at Mile 14 on Boscombe Pier gave me the unexpected lift I needed and coming back through the pier I started to steel myself and tell myself I could get through it. However the pace was starting to suffer considerably and I was down to 12min miles and by this point I pretty much knew my time was gone, being completely truthful I knew it was gone by mile 12 as despite timing wise still being on track I knew my body wouldn’t sustain the pace I needed to in order to achieve my goal, the main positive by mile 16 was that I knew regardless of time I would complete the race but what came next was a massive physical and mental challenge... 

As I looped round Bournemouth Pier my eyes locked onto what I can only describe as the biggest hill I’ve ever seen or at least that’s what it felt like and my mind just went “oh no”- I had a similar feeling to looking at a giant rollercoaster at a theme park and not wanting to go on it, the only bonus with that is that the rides are usually over in seconds and it’s optional unlike the hill. The added sub dynamic was that someone had the bright idea to map the course so you ran through the finish line so on the left the sub 3hr finishers were coming home whereas the poor, unfortunate slower runners were through the finish line and up and round for a jolly up the hill... I ran it to the top, despite one bloke helpfully commenting “you were well ahead of my wife beforehand, what’s happened?” as he came down the hill, sometimes spectators say the most unhelpful things - I don’t hold it against him as I don’t think they understand the mental detriment it does to you.

Anyhow I got to the top but I’d completely blown a gasket - that mile took me 13mins but the damage it had done to the body in the heat was irreparable and the next three miles took 15mins; the only thing that kept me going was that I knew my old man was at Mile 20 and he’d see me home, I also ran into Peter Mizzi’s friend Tony at Mile 19 and he gave me a welcome lift.

Anyhow I got to Mile 20 and seeing my folks gave me a welcome lift and I knew I’d get home; I picked up the pace momentarily and ran a 13.50 Mile- nothing fantastic but an improvement nonetheless but I couldn’t sustain it and the pace dipped again, sadly the last 5 Miles off the race is you running out to Sandbanks whilst those on their way home are hitting mile 25 in the opposite direction.

Anyhow I just focused on getting to the turn at mile 23 which seemed to take forever and at that point the customary “you’ve only got a parkrun to go” was exclaimed by a marshal, it’s little comfort when you know it’s probably going to take you double the time you usually do a parkrun in 😂.

Anyhow I just focused on finishing helpfully pushed on by the old man albeit with the occasional “pick your feet up son” bellowed at me, I wasn’t dragging them on purpose😂

What seems like an eternity later I arrived towards the finishing barriers and still managed a customary sprint finish and I wasn’t allowed to keel over as the funnel managers quickly moved you along to get your medal etc - a great feeling.

I have to hand it to Bournemouth, the organisation and spectator support was awesome although the start time was less than ideal and a big gap in water stations along the seafront post 10 Miles was tough. That’s said the festival is great and offers something for everyone, mine and my friends family contingent had runners in the 1k, 5k, 10k and mara so it really does cater for all with a half sandwiched in too and despite initial concern it could be a poor generic medal it isn’t.

The course itself whilst quite a bit of up and down was enjoyable but the killer was the hill at 17 so for me if I ran there again I could only see myself doing the half.

In terms of marathon’s I’ll definitely do another but perhaps not next year unless I get into London through the club ballot as I worry my calf could struggle again so a lot of strength work for that is needed as training wise whilst not perfect on the whole I got the miles in and had a fair amount of hill training. Regardless, of the time I’m happy to join the 1% and be classed as a marathon runner so I’ll take that for now although next time I hope to not be on my feet as long as it’s a killer!

Thanks for all your support and well done to all other runners over the weekend. The one thing I’ve learnt from my marathon experience is to respect it - regardless of training and prep anything can happen on race day so it’s important not to apply too much pressure to yourself!

Birthday Quiz 2017!

This year's Big Birthday Quiz will be on Saturday 21st October from 7pm, in the big back room at the New Inn. 

No need to buy a ticket before you turn up for this one, but there are a few little guidelines to bear in mind:

• You can arrange who you're going to be on a team with ahead of the night but keep the teams to about 6 or 7 people please. 
• Each team pays £2 per person to enter on the night. 
• Quizmaster's ruling is final. No substitutions, exchanges or refunds...and no peeking at the table next to you! 
• Raffle tickets are on sale in the kit shop and will also be available on the night. You can buy raffle tickets online even if you can't make the party, and all the proceeds go to charity so you should definitely buy tickets! 

As we'll be in our usual home from home for this event the food and drink situation will be basically like a bigger version of the monthly social - everyone gets what they want when they want it themselves according to hunger and thirst!  

As a side show to the quizzing action we are once again incorporating the annual Great Eagles Bake Off into the quiz night, so please dust off your rolling pins, get those aprons on and impress us. Prize for the winning entry...! 

Huge Flock of Eagles to Soar Around 2017 Ealing Half Marathon

Over 270 members of local running club Ealing Eagles will be running in the Ealing Half Marathon this Sunday, 24 September.

The award winning Ealing Half Marathon is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company, and aims to inspire people in the borough and beyond to get more active.

Some 90 Eagles took part in the inaugural event back in 2012 and the numbers have increased every year since. A staggering 220 Eagles ran in the 2016 and several members of the club are on the list of ‘ever presents’ who have run all five Ealing Half Marathons to-date.

Ealing Eagles Running Club partnered with the Ealing Half team to put on a series of training sessions for the general public in the weeks leading up to the race.  The training was designed to get runners familiar with the route and it’s famous ‘undulations’ so they can take on the 13.1 mile course with confidence on the big day.

This year once again hundreds of Ealing Eagles will take part in the race either as runners or volunteers as they enjoy the biggest day in the West London running calendar.

Chair Thom Martini commented: ‘The Ealing Half Marathon is a truly special event to our club. It’s the biggest race of the year for a lot of our members and many local runners started running or joined the Ealing Eagles as a direct result of this popular half marathon being right on our doorstep. We’re proud and privileged to be part of the race again in such big numbers this year and we wish the best of luck to everyone running on Sunday’. 

CRY Heart Screening Session Sunday 5th November

The next free screenings for those aged 14-35 will take place at The Florence Road Health Centre, 26 Florence Road, Ealing, W5 3TX, on Sunday, November 5.

Because demand is usually extremely high, we are once again operating a password-protected priority booking system for one week only. After that, booking is open to all. If you would like to give the password to family, friends, your organisation or business, please feel free to do so but we would be grateful if you did not share it on social media. 

The instructions from CRY are:

Please go to www.testmyheart.org.uk

1. At the top of the page is the header “PRIVATE SCREENINGS”, click on this link and you will see Florence Road Surgery listed for the 5thNovember 2017.
2. Click on the name and you will be asked for a password, this is Ealing17 . Please ensure the first letter of the password is capitalised. Click on the “Places Available” link and choose a time slot. Please do not give out this password as this screening is currently PRIVATE.
3. Fill in the required details and then click book.
4. You will receive a pending email which means the appointment is booked (please check your junk email folder if you do not receive this in your inbox). Nearer the time of the screening you will be sent a confirmation email; this will include a medical questionnaire and consent form. Please download the documents, read carefully, complete the required information and take them with you on the day.

If you have questions re the event, please contact CRY, not us or the surgery. CRY's contact details are Contact Us - c-r-y.org.uk

The Jungfrau Marathon by Andy Guy

The Jungfrau Marathon markets itself as 'The Most Beautiful Marathon in the World'.  This beauty is certainly not a reflection of the course profile but typically based on the photogenic beauty of the valleys and mountains of the Swiss Alps.  Not this year:

This year was the 25th Anniversary of the Jungfrau Marathon and over a few too many glasses of wine during Christmas 2016 I was convinced to enter it.  The Berner Oberland region has a special meaning to me and I decided that running a non-road marathon would help keep my fitness up during the summer.  I conveniently forgot that I now live in London and there is a rather different course profile to this marathon – with over a vertical mile to climb during the last 10 miles:

I'd done a recce of the steepest sections (both conveniently highlighted in green above) and found them to be horrific!  A couple of other mountain runs and a 16km race in the region during July confirmed that I'm simply not very good at hiking up the steepest points at speed.

The Race

The weather forecast had been consistent all week.  A cold, cloudy day in Interlaken (around 12 degrees) with rain/snow forecast (and 2 degrees) for the top of the race at around midday.  The temperature change involved more than the usual faffing in terms of 'what to wear'.  The race started at 0830 so it was the usual early start, get a train down to Interlaken and run up a mountain, into a cloud.

Starting waves were invoked for the first time and the timings were stuck to with Swiss precision.  As part of Block 2 I started at 0835 with the question that had been playing on my mind for months: how to pace this?  In terms of expectations, my main aim was to finish – a Swiss friend who has completed this race twice mentioned recently that he has seen this course reduce grown men to tears.  Of all the advice I'd received the best was to simply enjoy the run and the views.  Given a combination of the terrain, route profile and weather, this seemed unlikely! But the sentiment was spot on – and confirmed a conservative approach was probably sensible.  In addition, the rough guidance from the organisers was to add 1.5 hours to a recent road marathon time, so based on that I'd decided to pick up a 4h 45m pace band and set out at 5 min/km.

The atmosphere in Interlaken for the start was fantastic in spite of the poor weather.  Alpine horns, traditional flag throwing and the Swiss National Anthem all preceded the start.  Given it was the 25th Anniversary there were an additional 1,000 runners or so (around 5,100) and a certain nervousness about how this would play out on the single track paths above. 

The first 26.5km are described by most people who look at the route profile as 'flat' – except that they're not and climb some 300m!  The first 5km are flat though and it was a bizarre and almost eerie feeling as we set off.  I've never been in a race before where virtually everybody is holding back and thoughts already flicking ahead to the wall that will meet us at the 26.5km mark.  The lack of racing meant that a few conversations broke out; the Eagles vest being an advertisement to anyone wishing to converse in English and the FiveFingers shoes being the usual icebreaker from anyone who drew up next to me.  In short: yes, I've run in them before (this is a marathon afterall) and yes, I've considered my shoe choice (I'm an adult and dress myself).

Each hamlet or village we pass on the way was great – applause, 'Hopp Hopp' cheering, Trychler groups with their huge cow bells, Fasnacht bands, solo guitarists with huge speakers and various other bands.  The event is clearly an important part of the region and each of the small villages that the route passes through.

I had now hit each of my pace targets within 20 or so seconds. This was going well in spite of the high heart rate brought on by a head cold and the not so flat first half.  Now for the right turn towards the wall to Wengen.  Deep breathe. The glacial valley on top of which Wengen is perched means that there is no simple route up to this car free village – presumably the reason it is car free!  The steep switchback section of the narrow path is only about 2km long but took me 24 minutes during my recce run. The flow of people past me confirmed my fears that I don't speed-hike as quickly as others. Having said that it looks from the results that I held my own and didn't lose as much time as I feared.  Significantly I started running again as soon as the tarmac section appeared and managed to run all the way up the next 2km to Wengen passing many of those frustratingly quick walkers.  I'd agreed that I'd see my one-man support crew in Wengen to replace water bottles etc but when I got there I didn't need a new supply – mainly because the fuelling stations had been so good and it certainly wasn't warm.  Indeed, it struck me that Simon looked freezing with his down jacket, additional waterproof and hat pulled down tightly.  An ominous sign for what was to come! Wengen is at 1283m above sea level and marked the 30km mark.  I think I was right on target – about 2h 55m.  Only 12km to go. Good?  Nope - it was going to take me at least another 1h 50m…

The route now follows the route of the mountain railway quite closely and it was a boost to see the support crew again at the Allmend station (the slow pace and the trains up the mountain means some parts of the course are quite accessible for spectators).  However the rain had now well and truly set it and the cloud was hovering above us.  Running into the cloud was when it became really miserable and much colder, although thankfully, after Allmend, there were some decent sections where something resembling a run could break out.  It's worth pointing out at this stage that along with kilometre markers at each and every kilometre – held by incredibly positive and increasingly cold looking volunteers – there are markers every 250m such is the time taken to pass each of these.  The very fact they need to do that on this course freaked me out and helped keep moral up in equal measure.

Usually when I reach the Wixi skilift I'm disappointed that the skiing has temporarily ended.  On this occasion it was with a sense of relief at there being only being 4km to 'run' but also the intrepidation of what lay ahead.  Now above the tree line this climb is brutal. Especially when you've run 38km (23.5 miles).  It's pretty much single file scrambling up a narrow rocky path. The good news is you cannot go too fast; the bad news is that if you lose contact with the runner in front you have the feeling you're holding 5,000 people back! 

The 41st kilometre is possibly the hardest – it climbs up a ridge called the 'Moräne' (glacial moraine).  It is exposed, and climbing through the freezing cloud in single file was truly miserable. That kilometre took me the best part of 18 minutes – only 44 seconds quicker than my best Gunnersbury Parkrun time!

For some bizarre reason a bagpiper stands at the highest point of the course – the sound of was eerie and he suddenly appeared out of the cloud at an altitude of 2,320m.   Never have I been so happy to hear the pipes!  My feelings at this point fluctuated widely between disbelief, inspiration and even amusement (I remembered that in these parts, the bagpipes are called the ‘Doodlesac’), but the overriding emotion was relief: the finish can’t be far away now.

These guys are from 'Block 1' – the front of the field.  Moräne, 2017

Down now – almost down…  for the final kilometre, still mostly in single file.  A couple of people raced past taking no account of the health of their ankles.  Others were wincing in pain as quads and calves started cramping up.  But after scrambling through a gap in the rocks, before you know it you've finished.

Done. I’d lost a couple of minutes in the last climb and had fallen slightly behind my pace band, but still finished in 4h 50, cracking the 5 hours that I'd been hoping to do. 

I'd envisaged drinking a couple of cold beers, lying on the alpine meadow overlooking the Finish and valleys below and savouring the fact that I'd finished the Jungfrau Marathon.  However, given the weather (and the fact I'd now lost feeling in the ends of my fingers) the key was now to get warm, gather medal, slab of chocolate and Finisher T-shirt and get back to a warm restaurant.  Outside, it really was miserable – and getting worse.

My heart went out to a couple of finishers who sat near us on the train on the way back to Grindelwald in the valley below – one asked if you could normally see the mountains.  He'd run the Jungfrau Marathon and not even glimpsed the Jungfrau itself. If only he knew the foot of the world-famous Eiger Nordwand was only a couple of hundred metres away.  I didn’t have the heart to tell him.

The view my train companion missed…

Overall the event was brilliantly organised; an incredible challenge; a once in a lifetime experience and - much as it sounds ridiculous - the atrocious conditions made it even more satisfying (once I’d finished!). A lot of people asked ‘why run that marathon?’.  Well, the race itself was mostly too painful to think about an answer but afterwards I’d include it in that category where the greater the hardship and discomfort during, the greater the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction at the end.  Once the heat and feeling started coming back in my fingers – an hour after I'd finished - my mind had already started wandering to parts of the race where time had been won and lost… was this really only ‘once’ in a lifetime?

Lessons Learned

In case anyone’s tempted (and if you look at the odds, the weather next year must be better!), entries for the Jungfrau Marathon 2018 open on 14 February 2018 and will sell out within a week.  So for anyone who does fancy a trot up a Swiss mountain, here are a couple of observations and lessons learned:

•    [Obviously,] It’s not a regular marathon, you can’t compare it to a ‘normal’ course. It’s more two races – the first 26 kms or so (a slight uphill road race), and the final 16 kms (a monster hill – hiking with intermittent running off-road)
•    Walking uphill is a skill in itself requiring different technique and muscle groups than running so needs specific training – would have been a good idea!
•    Time on your feet – adding 1.5 hours to a normal marathon is a large percentage for any marathoner.  I ran a 30 miles training run in the North Downs at a very slow pace with a knowledgeable guide – that really helped. Should have done more.
•    There’s also no (or very little) downhill. So bearing in mind the havoc that steep downhills plays on your legs, the best hill training would be to find the steepest long slopes possible, but somehow defy the ‘what does up must go down’ law and avoid the pounding that coming back down a couple of thousand metre climb normally entails. Save your legs and recover faster for more uphills. Unfortunately, trail runs often don’t have a slide back 2 kilometres to the bottom
•    On pacing, there’s a school of thought that says embrace the two stage nature of the race, go harder and more aggressive than normal for the first half, knowing that the second half is a more evenly paced walk, often single file with no passing opportunities – the opportunity to recover and hang in there.  It sounds high risk and I wasn’t game to try, but…

I hope this was interesting.  For anyone thinking about the Jungfrau Marathon, I hope this helps.  It’s a truly beautiful part of the world (usually) and I’d urge anyone to give it a try. 
And maybe I’ll see you there.
 

How Can I Get Back Into Running?

An experienced runner who hasn’t been running for a while, perhaps because of injury, and now wanting to get back into running?

A graduate from the beginners’ programme who’s been busy over the summer and you’re not quite sure if you’ll be able to run the whole of the short club run, even at conversational pace, without taking a walking break?

Somewhere in the middle – life’s been busy and you don’t know what to do?

What can Ealing Eagles offer to help you?

First of all, if you need to go right back to basics, our beginners’ programme starting at the end of September is a run / walk programme which means that it may be compatible with your return from injury run / walk programme. The first session will be run 2mins, walk a minute and repeat for about 30mins; the amount of running is increased gradually over 6 to 8 weeks until beginners can run for the whole session, covering about 5.5k (the short club run) in about 45 to 50mins. All sessions encourage beginners to run at a pace at which they can talk as it will be their long run; this may be gentler than your normal pace so you can use the time to concentrate on your running form while chatting to the beginners. You may also find that you do not need to go through the whole beginners’ programme. If you want to take up this option, please email beginners@ealingeagles.com for more information.

If you are able to run about 5k but not sure what else to do, then why not try our Improver or Starter sessions (see separate article) starting end of September / beginning of October? Aimed at graduates from the beginners’ programme, the sessions are designed to introduce you to speedwork and also to increase the distance for which you can run. One advantage of being able to run further than 5k and to do speedwork is that it will help you to fit in a “shorter” session if you don’t have time to go for that 10k run you were intending to do. Consistency is an important feature of being able to keep running and to enjoy running.

If you’re a bit more experienced and/or a bit faster (we won’t put a pace range here in case it worries anyone), then you may simply need to identify some training buddies or a race to train for. Come along to a club social (first Wednesday of the month) at the New Inn and meet some of the other Eagles. Or, have a look at the list of club championship races and choose one to train for and to go along to – there’ll be other Eagles there. The local parkruns are another place where you are likely to see plenty of Eagles on a Saturday morning – favourites are Gunnersbury, Osterley and Northala or there may be a few Eagles doing a bit of parkrun tourism.

And what if you’re not at any of these levels? Perhaps you’ve done beginners and you don’t need to go right back to the beginning but 5k still feels like a long distance? If anyone, particularly beginners who graduated in June 2017, hasn’t been doing much running over the summer and is not confident about being able to do even the short club run at a conversational pace, please get in touch with Wei Hei at whkipling@talktalk.net and we will see what extra sessions, if any, need to be organised.

The Next Step After 5k - Autumn Improvers!

Have you completed the club beginners’ programme or are otherwise able to run 5k?

Currently running at or willing to run at a pace of 8min/k (parkrun 5k in 40mins)?

Want to run faster and further?

Improvers will be restarting on Monday 2 October meeting at 10am. This course will aim to progress Eagles from running 5.5k to running Osterley 10k on Saturday 9 December (so get your entry in before it sells out http://osterleypark10k.co.uk/) and to provide an introduction to speed work. There is no requirement to attend all the sessions but you will make most progress if you do and you will also be expected to do “homework” outside the Monday sessions if you wish to take part in a training plan for 10k. The length of the sessions will necessarily depend on the distance being run that day but you should allow from about an hour to 1 ½ hours. The sessions will move around depending on the focus of the session but the first session will meet at the gazebo in Walpole Park by the café / play area with an informal workshop afterwards. (Daytime runners who can already run 10k are welcome to join us for any of the sessions; details of individual sessions will be advertised each week.)

For those who can’t make daytime sessions, there are plenty of training sessions going on in the evenings. All sessions are open to everyone in the club. The sessions that appear to be hardcore – intervals, track and hills – are, in practice, more beginner-friendly because everyone stays in the same place so there is no worry about getting lost. For those who still feel a bit daunted, Starter sessions will be offered on an ad hoc (and trial) basis to introduce you to the options available. A provisional programme is set out below – all meeting times at 7.30pm.

Wed 27 Sept Starter short club run (meeting at Ealing Green for anyone who isn’t feeling confident after the summer)

Wed 11 Oct Starter speedplay (meeting at Ealing Green and using the short club run with little bits of running at faster pace so that you learn to run at more than one pace)

Wed 18 Oct Starter hill strides (meeting at Ealing Green but then going to the area near the Town Hall and using either the bridge or the pedestrian ramps to do some short sharp hill strides after appropriate warm-up and drills to prepare to do hills)

Wed 25 Oct Starter long club run (meeting at Ealing Green and reassuring you that you can have a go at doing the long club run)

Thu 2 Nov Starter hills – meeting at Haven Green to go to West Walk

Tue 21 Nov Starter track – meeting at Osterley track

There will be an informal workshop after club run on Wednesday 27 September for those people who would like to work out how to put all these sessions together to make a training plan for Osterley 10k on Saturday 9 December (so get your entry in before it sells out http://osterleypark10k.co.uk/).

If you’ve already done a few short club runs or parkruns and are free on Wednesday evenings, then the combination of beginners and a club run can also help to extend your distance.

If anyone, particularly beginners who graduated in June 2017, hasn’t been doing much running over the summer and is not confident about being able to do even the short club run at a conversational pace, please get in touch with Wei Hei at whkipling@talktalk.net and we will see what extra sessions, if any, need to be organised.

Beginner's Programme Autumn 2017 - Volunteers!

Are you interested in volunteering with beginners or even learning to lead runs or to coach for the club but don’t have any experience of what this might involve?

The Ealing Eagles Beginners Programme has proved very popular (invitations to the autumn 2017 programme have been sent out to over 148 people). The programme starts with run / walking with all the running at a comfortable pace at which people can talk and gradually builds up to the short club run. Beginners don’t need to have any special equipment to start or to have any particular level of fitness or to be able to run a certain distance to qualify – they just need to turn up on the day with enthusiasm and a commitment to follow the programme! Our experience is that most people will take six to eight weeks, going out twice a week, to progress from not running at all to running 5k.

Fixed length beginners’ courses will be starting at the end of September as follows:

There is no clubhouse so please arrive dressed ready to run. If you have any bags with you, you can leave them in Crispin's Wine bar on Wednesday evenings or in FarmW5 on Thursday mornings. Both of these businesses are located opposite Ealing Green.

In addition to the run / walking element of the programme present in all Eagles beginners’ programmes, some of the sessions in the next programme will include units focusing on running technique.

The sessions are led by our experienced coaches who are qualified UKA Leaders in Running Fitness. Some beginners’ leaders specialise in working with beginners; others started with beginners and have moved on to leading sessions for the club as whole; while others work with both groups. The qualified leaders are supported by a team of volunteers – some simply enjoy encouraging new people to start running while others are inspired to take on other volunteering opportunities. It is not essential for volunteers to be available for the whole programme though obviously volunteers who attend more sessions will find it easier to get to know the beginners. Eagles interested in volunteering with either beginners or the club as whole can gain experience with beginners in a variety of training roles including: run leading; leading warm-ups or cool-downs; or working with a small group of beginners.

If you are on facebook, there is a dedicated facebook group for beginners’ volunteers.

Please email beginners@ealingeagles.com if you would like more information.

Opportunity to Volunteer with A Mile in Her Shoes

A Mile In Her Shoes is a small charity that helps women affected by homelessness to find their feet through running fitness. It was founded four years ago by Ealing Eagle Nicola Miller and remains entirely volunteer led, with involvement over the years from several other Eagles including Celia Roberts, who is a trustee. 

The charity is currently expanding and adding several new running fitness groups from September 2017, thanks to funding from the Greater London Authority and support from England Athletics to celebrate the London 2017 World Athletics Championships and the IPC World Para Athletics Championships.

These groups will encourage women who may have been affected by issues related to homelessness to experience running as a way of exercising, socialising, boosting confidence and raising self-esteem.

The charity is really excited to be offering new opportunities for volunteers at locations in London, including one local to us in Acton. 

They are offering a couple of practical 'taster' experience days so volunteers can learn how we work and explore opportunities that would suit them. The next one is on Saturday 9th September at London South Bank University. 

All the run leaders need to be female, but there are ways for men to volunteer with the charity too. There is no requirement to have LiRF or other coaching qualifications and there is no minimum speed or ability needed - just time and a commitment to the charity's values to help women feel good about themselves. 

Interested? Please visit http://www.amileinhershoes.org.uk/volunteer-with-us for more details.  If you’d like to join a taster experience, please complete the contact form on the website choosing ‘Volunteering with a Run Group’.

Eagles Raise Money for Tom Clabburn Fund

Local running club raises money for heart charity

The Ealing Eagles’ running club has raised nearly £1,800 for The Tom Clabburn Memorial Fund and Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).

The memorial fund was set-up following the death of 14-year-old Ealing schoolboy Tom Clabburn in 2007 from an undiagnosed heart condition. CRY administer the fund for Tom’s family who fund-raise and organise local cardiac screenings.

In the 10 years since it was set up, the fund has raised more than £160,000, enabling more than 2,500 young people aged between 14-35 to be tested for heart conditions. It has also funded the purchase of new screening equipment and research. 

Ealing Eagles’ club chairman Thom Martini said: “The Eagles have supported CRY for many years through its involvement in the Ealing Half Marathon and the Andrew Carter Memorial Mile. It seemed a natural progression to make Tom’s fund our nominated charity for this year as we believe it is important that young people have the opportunity to access cardiac screening locally.“

Thom added: “We held several running and social events to raise the money and we are delighted that it will be used to support such vital work. Being runners we tend to think that we are all fit and healthy but tragically, as we’ve seen, that is not necessarily the case.”

Photo Copyright to Paul Clabburn

Many of the club’s runners take part in September’s award winning Ealing Half Marathon, which has again named CRY as an associated charity partner for the 2017. Members also turn out in large numbers to support the annual Andrew Carter Memorial Mile. Andrew died of an undiagnosed heart condition while taking part in the 2014 Ealing Half Marathon and his parents allow proceeds from the race to be paid into the Tom Clabburn Memorial Fund.

Tom’s dad, Paul Clabburn, said: “We are honoured to have been nominated as the Ealing Eagles’ charity for the year. Both individually and collectively, they have been extremely supportive to us over the years and we can only thank them for yet again putting such a tremendous effort into raising money for the fund. They are an incredibly generous group of people.”

Upcoming Tuesday Track Sessions!

We’ve got a bumper track programme for July at Osterley, including the return of the amazing Mara. The next few weeks of sessions will be as follows:

Tuesday 4th July
5-7 x 1k intervals, 400m recovery jogs

Tuesday 11th July
Back by popular demand, Mara Yamamauchi, 2nd fastest British female Olympian over 26.2 miles is returning to coach all you lovely people. See separate event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1525380630869359/?acontext=%7B%22source%22%3A4%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D&source=4&action_history=null

Tuesday 18th July
1 x 1600m, 1 x 1200m, 1 x 800m, 2 x 400m, 2 x 200m. At 5k pace. 90 seconds recovery.
OR 1 x 1200m, 1 x 800m, 1 x 400m, 1 x 200m. At 5k pace. 90 seconds recovery.

Tuesday 25th July
Yasso 800s: 6-10 x 800m, 400m recovery jogs

In the run up to the Ealing Half Marathon, these sessions will have an emphasis on endurance. If done properly, these are hard sessions that will be tough to complete, but will really lead to improvement.

There will be variations for runners of different abilities so don’t afraid if you’re new to track, you won’t be left behind. The best bit about track is that you’re constantly seeing other Eagles so there is plenty of support. Everyone has their own goals but we encourage each other. Ideally you need a running watch, a simple stop watch will do. If you don’t have one we’ll try and buddy you up with someone of a similar pace.

Osterley track is located at 120 Wood Lane, Isleworth, TW7 5FF.

All sessions start at 7.30pm.

Please ensure you pay on your way in, Eagles get a reduced rate of £2.80, and there are lockers available for a refundable £1. You can also leave your bags at the trackside, but do so at your own risk.

Bring a bottle of water, especially if it’s a warm day.

10k - The Next Step After 5k

Have you completed the club beginners’ programme or are otherwise able to run 5.5k?

Want to run faster and further?

Come along to beginners’ graduation and find out more about increasing your distance, talk about training plans and discuss opportunities for training.

You will find us in the Rose & Crown on Wednesday 21 June from 7.30pm and in FarmW5 on Thursday 22 June from 11am.

In particular, with the current beginners’ programme finishing next week, another Improvers course will be starting. This time, there will be speedwork sessions at 10am on Mondays starting Monday 3 July and sessions to increase your distance / endurance at 10am on Thursdays starting Thursday 6 July. This course will aim to progress Eagles from running 5.5k to running a 10k race in the middle of August (Battersea Summer League) and to provide an introduction to speed work. There is no requirement to attend all the sessions but you will make most progress if you do and you will also be expected to do “homework” outside the sessions as part of a training plan for 10k. The length of the distance sessions will necessarily depend on the distance being run that day but you should allow from about an hour to 1 ½ hours.

The speedwork sessions will last no longer than an hour and, because we will stay in the same place for each session, will be suitable for all abilities.

For those beginner graduates not available during the day over the school holidays, there is likely to be an Improvers course in the autumn probably on Mondays at 10am starting in October and targeting the Osterley winter 10k in December.

Flying High at Welsh Castles Relay!

Ealing Eagles competed in the Welsh Castles Relay hosted by Les Croupiers Running Club over the weekend of 10 and 11 June 2017. 

The Welsh Castles Relay is a 2 day, 20 stage, 206 mile relay race from Caernarfon to Cardiff. The event has grown since its inception in 1982 and this year 64 teams competed across four categories – ‘open’, ‘ladies’, ‘masters’ and ‘business house’. 

The Eagles have competed in the relay since 2013, and in this year’s event the club entered teams in both the open and ladies categories. The open team improved on last year’s 12th place, eventually finishing in 7th place overall with a time of 22 hours 19 minutes and 59 seconds. The ladies team equalled their placing from last year and took 2nd place in their category with a time of 25 hours 39 minutes and 12 seconds. 

Open team captain Kieran Santry said: “This year’s performance far exceeded my expectations. We did very well to finish in 13th place last year. It was consistency that got us up to 7th place out of 66 teams. The overall times were much quicker this year than in other years, which makes the team's placing even more impressive. The standard at the top end of the field is very high and includes many ex-national champions and record holders. We got 20 outstanding performances from 20 guys who gave 100% and that’s all you can ask for.”

Ladies team captain Jennifer Watt said: “When we first brought a women's team to the Castles, the goal was not to come last in the ladies’ category. That was back in 2014 and we didn’t finish last - we were 7th (out of 10 teams) in a total time of 28:33. In 2015 we finished 4th in 27:54. But it wasn’t until last year, 2016, when we had our real breakthrough; we ran more than hour and half quicker than 2015 bringing our total time down to 26:16 and bagging second place - only 26 minutes behind the winners, the Les Croupiers ladies. This year the team ran 37 minutes quicker - finishing in second place on the podium in total time of 25:39 and proving that last year was no fluke.”

The full teams of runners and their times were:

Stage 1    9.1 Miles Claire Morris 1:09:03 Harry Claxton 1:02:55

Stage 2    10.7 Miles Yvonne Linney 1:15:45, Tom Rowles 1:02:27

Stage 3    12.3 Miles Harriet Betteridge 1:34:00 Colin Overton 01:15:16

Stage 4    9.5 Miles Malgorzata 1:11:36 Bernard Sexton 01:01:54

Stage 5    9.6 Miles Lucy Rigg 01:18:11, Phill Turner 01:08:35

Stage 6    6.9 Miles Michelle Verbossche 01:19:19, Rob Willin 01:13:30

Stage 7   10.7 Michelle Tanner 01:19:35, Ewan Fryatt 01:03:37

Stage 8    10.8 Miles Jenny Bushell 01:20:11, Chris Wiciak 01:08:36

Stage 9    9.6 Miles Kira King 00:58:41, Chris Lambert 00:51:33

Stage 10   13.1 Miles Sarah Bailey 01:31:55 Tom Easten 01:21:27

Stage 11   12.3 Miles Jen Watt 01:32:38, Matt Kaufman 01:19:30

Stage 12   11.2 Miles Olivia Parker-Scott 01:23:04 Mike Lawrence 01:10:04

Stage 13   10.6 Miles Emily Schmidt 01:19:14 Kieran Santry 01:09:23

Stage 14   10.8 Miles Ellen Easten 01:24:03 Andy Guy 01:21:18

Stage 15   12.8 Miles Francesca Cooper 01:26:05 Kieran Morrisroe 01:20:25

Stage 16   8.8 Miles Sarah Mackenzie 01:14:14 Jose Manuel Pabon 55:41

Stage 17   9.2 Miles Kelly Scanlon 01:01:40 Raf Mac 56:31

Stage 18   9.1 Miles Sophie Foxall 01:10:40 Greg Lawes 01:00:15

Stage 19   7.7 Miles Elizabeth Adams 01:06:23 Ralph Dadswell 01:00:34

Stage 20   10.7 Miles Rebecca Jackson 01:06:23 John Foxall 01:00:34

Comrades Marathon 2017 by Ralph Dadswell

A double marathon in the heat of South Africa, run either uphill or downhill on alternate years? And this year it was uphill? 

Well why wouldn't you want to do that?! 

Here is Ralph's report of all that unfolded during this gruelling race on 4th June 2017. 

http://www.deapp.co.uk/_uploads/uploads/Comrades%202017.pdf

Well done Ralph - amazing stuff! 

2016 - 2017 Club Championships & Club Awards

At the Summer Party on Saturday night we finally found out who had taken home the silverware in the 2016 - 2017 Club Championships!

The ladies results are as follows:

Female Club Champion - Sarah Bailey
Senior Female Winner - Rebecca Jackson
Female V30 Winner - Melissah Gibson
Female V35 Winner - Maria Fitzgerald
Female V40 Winner - Yvonne Linney
Female V45 Winner - Jennifer Watt
Female V50 Winner - Elizabeth Adams

And the men's results were:

Male Club Champion - Tom Easten
Senior Male Winner - John Foxall
Male V30 Winner - Jose Manuel Pabon
Male V35 Winner - Tom Corbett
Male V40 Winner - Harry Claxton
Male V45 Winner - Ralph Dadswell
Male V50 Winner - Rob Willin

We were also delighted to hand out more trophies for the different club awards categories, which this year were:

Club Personality -Frank Doyle
Clubman - Jennifer Watt
Most Improved Runner - Yvette Burton
Most Improved Beginner – Darren Loftus
 

Well done to all the winners and to everyone who has raced, volunteered, taken part and run for the club over the last year for helping to make it a fantastically successful season. 

Eagles Soar at London Marathon

23rd April 2017

Huge flock of Ealing Eagles soar at 2017 London Marathon

A total of 49 members of local running club Ealing Eagles completed the 2017 London Marathon on Sunday 23rd April. 

In a record breaking year for the London Marathon 40,382 runners took on the course, which starts in Greenwich and covers 26.2 miles through East London and the Docklands area before heading past the Tower of London, Big Ben, and finally finishing on the Mall close to Buckingham Palace. 

The annual marathon is the biggest single fundraising event in the world. Several of the Eagles taking part this year were raising money for charity, altogether raising an incredible total of just under £39k for their various good causes.

Four Eagles had a different but equally important role on race day as official volunteers; Rachel Job, Paul Thomas, and the team behind the Ealing Half Marathon Sandra Courtney and Kelvin Walker were part of the team looking after the runners at one of the three start areas.

Many other members of the club were on hand to cheer the runners on from various points around the course and from their regular spot at the 23rd mile, providing a much needed boost for the final push to the finish. 

Chair Thom Martini commented ‘the London Marathon is a very special event and every year it demonstrates both the diverse range of runners we have and the supportive nature of the club. This year our runner’s times ranged from 2 hours and 41 minutes to just over 6 hours, and they were all cheered into the home straight by their club mates’. 

The full marathon results for the Ealing Eagles are as follows:

Easten, Tom 02:41:53
Overton, Colin 02:48:30
Kaufman, Matthew Alexander 02:54:36
Pabon, Jose Manuel 02:59:16
Dadswell, Ralph 03:06:58
Fryatt, Ewan 03:08:54
Claxton, Harry 03:11:43
Gibson, Melissah 03:18:30
Lawes, Greg - 3:21:22
Keenleyside, Piers 03:23:18
Tanner, Michelle 03:34:12
Lambert, Chris 03:34:53
Sanderson, Carole 03:36:29
Schmidt, Emily 03:36:58
Verbossche, Michelle 03:37:40
Kucharska, Malgorzata 03:39:46
Robinson, Paul 03:40:17
Mackenzie, Sarah Jane 03:42:07
Luksch, Kerstin 03:42:59
Johnson, Charlotte 03:50:19
Sexton, Bernard - 3:51:28
Goodman, Luke - 3:55:10
Vickery, Heidi 03:56:58
Gaga, Laura 03:57:22
Minhas, Pardip 03:57:30
Adams, Elizabeth 04:00:57
Burton, Yvette 04:02:28
Szczech, Bernard 04:02:50
Maryniak, Marcin 04:11:36
Lang, Paul 04:15:02
Baker, Jennifer 04:19:58
Lewis, Holly 04:20:31
O'Hare, Christina 04:26:44
Chybowski, Stefan 04:33:35
McClements, Rachel 04:34:06
Mirza, Naveed 04:38:48
Fernandes, Kim 04:42:53
Duff, Angela 04:46:31
Hart, Suzy 04:46:43
Wiggins, Pamela 04:54:15
Burton, Faye 04:59:25
Panton, Nigel 05:03:09
Cann, Laura 05:11:55
Thakker, Jesal 05:12:30
Bennett, Steph 05:18:49
Mulrenan, Catherine 05:22:45
Mizzi, Peter 5:27:20
Moran, Carol 5:45:04
Müller-Choudhury, Tasnia Taniqua 6:06:01
 

Juniors Winter Season Achievements

As XC season comes to a close, we take a moment to hi-light and celebrate the achievements of our juniors in their first winter of competitive racing.

• Our juniors participated in two XC leagues this winter- Met League & the NW London XC League;
• 13 juniors ran over 10 league fixtures, some raced in a single fixture, some raced consistently;
• 3 juniors represented their boroughs in the London Youth Games at Parliament Hill;
• 2 juniors raced at the Southern XC Championships;
• 3 juniors raced at the Middlesex XC Championships.

By no means was it easy for our juniors to put themselves up against other well established clubs. But, at every event, they showed grit, determination and heart. We are proud of their achievements this winter and we hope you are too.

None of this, of course, is possible without our dedicated team of volunteers and we are grateful to them for their assistance with the development of our juniors. But, we need more volunteers to train as coaches (either as athletic coaches or cirfs), particularly to help train our older juniors. If you think working with young people is for you, then please be in touch with us at juniors@ealingeagles.com. We'd be delighted to hear from you.

We now look forward to our first spring/summer season of competitive track and field events....so watch this space!

Eagles Clubhouse Update

At the 2016 AGM, it was agreed that a sub committee would investigate various sites where the Eagles could establish a base.

This sub-committee has been working hard over the past year and at the 2017 AGM, Nigel Panton and Kelvin Walker gave an update on the progress.

Kelvin has also put together this summary on the progress. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-AC0rbRvI1HQ2NMSkVLbm9rdDA/view?usp=sharing

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me at chair@ealingeagles.com